Pipistrel and Honeywell join forces on air taxi project

Pipistrel and Honeywell have signed a memorandum of understanding that will bring both companies together on the exploration and development of solutions for the urban air mobility market.

As part of their collective effort, the companies will work together to integrate Honeywell avionics, navigation, flight control systems connectivity, and other beneficial products and services onto a future Pipistrel vertical takeoff and landing air vehicle to support fully autonomous operations in the future.

“This is the beginning of a long-term relationship to collectively pursue the future of urban air mobility,” said Ivo Boscarol, founder and president of Pipistrel.

“Honeywell’s expertise in integrated avionics and flight control systems, systems integration, certification and manufacturing, combined with our capabilities in designing and developing advanced light aircraft, makes us the perfect pairing to advance the urban air mobility market. “Pipistrel was chosen to be one of Uber’s vehicle development partners for their urban mobility solution, and our VTOL features next generation propulsion technology for achieving embedded lift.

“We have the concept which unlocks cost-attractive eVTOL opportunity by addressing efficiency and noise hurdles in vehicle lift, hover, and cruise stages of flight.”

Carl Esposito, president of Honeywell’s Electronic Solutions, said, “The urban air mobility market is a challenging space, but one that Honeywell is well positioned to support and grow.

“Companies looking to make breakthroughs in urban air mobility face a wide range of technical, safety, certification and business challenges that come with developing a new mode of travel in an already very dense air traffic environment.

“An understanding of the aerospace complexities and legacy of innovative technologies can make all the difference in addressing this emerging market.

“Pipistrel is a well-known leader in the light-aircraft space, and this is an excellent opportunity to support its vision of a future vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with our industry-leading avionics, flight control systems, and other potential products and services.”

Pipistrel is a world leading small aircraft designer and producer, specialised in electric-powered aircraft.

First-to-fly an electric two-seater in 2007 and first-to-fly an electric four-seat airplane which went on to win the NASA Green Flight Challenge in 2011, Pipistrel has produced more than 1,500 aircraft to-date.

The Pipistrel Vertical Solutions team has designed eight different electric aircraft since 2007 and has developed aircraft propulsion systems for NASA and Siemens’s aircraft.

The company holds an EASA Design, Production and Maintenance Organisation Approvals and has the capability of bringing a new aircraft design concept from a basic idea into a certified design, ready for production.